Welcome to Wrestling Gamers United Newsletter #355
This time of the year comes with mixed blessings. On one hand, for at least a few days everything is closed and I'm forced to sit and chill with out feeling guilty about not working on something. But it gets a little nerve racking to see the email stop coming in and the phone stop ringing. I guess I'm little too connected for my own good. But today things started coming back to life again and the hibernation looks to be over for another year.
And let's hope 2009 contains just a few less nut shots than 2008 did. Ugh. But let's focus on a positive present and future instead of reliving what went wrong. Not that it was all bad. We definitely learned a lot not the least of which is just how strong you can be when you have to. I think a lot of people are learning just how much they can survive these days. Jesus, the carnage in the game industry has been brutal. EA closed down it's entire Vancouver studio, Midway closed an entire studio, and on and on, all just before Christmas. I suspect this economic doom and gloom isn't going to lead to a lot of risk taking among the game companies that do exist. EA tried to create two new game properties from scratch (Mirror's Edge, and Dead Space) and apparently neither sold up to their expectations. The vocal minority scream for something new and fresh but then they sell a fraction of what Madden does. A very very small fraction. Can you blame the nervous execs at places like EA for playing safe for the next while? Staying small and staying indy isn't just a clever strategy anymore for a company like ours, it's the only way to stay alive.
I hope to hell it turns around fast. At least it hasn't quite decimated things as far as we're concerned. Where we are now in Alberta it's actually a nice little bubble sheltered from the Vancouver carnage. The lower price of oil means investors here are looking to put some money elsewhere. Not that our little company needs anywhere near the amount of funding that even the smallest oil company would but with the amount of individual wealth around here there is plenty of money floating around looking for a home. Get this, just before Christmas a group of Albertan angel investors actually called me. I didn't call them. They called me. Not used to that but I could sure start.
Anyway, back to work for me. If I get lucky I'll have time to play with one of my favorite presents this year. I actually got a new and unopened copy of the pinnacle of video game Wrestlecrap...WCW Thunder for PS1. Ohhhhhh yeahhhhhh
In the meantime and in between time, that's it, another edition of Wrestling Gamers United.